Token



Nav. 12, 1946. w. E. sNELL ETAL TOKEN Filed July 20, 1944 @a @ffm y@ IIJAVlIIIIYIAIIIIrAvAPArIrAP/I er Patented Nov. 12, 1946 TOKEN William E. Snell, Vineland, and `Homard E. Frantz, Jr., and Frank A. Hignutt, Millville, N. J.; said Frantz, Jr., and said Hignutt assignors to said Snell Application July 20,

8 Claims. 1

The new token may be made oi various materials and in different forms, although since it is to be used in place of coins, it should be small and compact, so that it can be readily handled, carried, counted, etc. In all for-ms, the token includes a body which has a sealed cavity containing a material which has the property of emitting light when subjected to the action of a high frequency field, and the cavity 'is deiined in part by one or more walls which will transmit the light emitted by the materiel within the cavity. l

For a better understanding of the invention, reference may be made to the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of one form of the new token;

Fig. 2 is aA sectional view on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Figs. 3, 4, and 5 are sectional views similar to Fig. l of modied forms of the token;

Figs. 6 and 'l are plan and sectional views, respectively, of another form of the token;

' Figs. 8 and 9 are plan and sectional views, respectively, of still another form of the token; Fig. lOvis an elevational view of a further modified form of the token;

Figs. 11 `and 12 are perspective views of other forms ofthe'token; and

Fig. 13 is a sectional view ofanother modification.

In its preferred form, shown in Fig. 1, the new token comprises a flat, hollow body which is of circular outline and of about the ldiameter of a quarter, although the diameter of the token may be somewhat larger or smaller, as desired. The body may be made in various ways; as, for example, it may consist of a pair of shallow dished sections 2l having `their edges secured together to define a sealed cavity 22 between them. These sections may be made of variousrnaterials such as glass, plastics, etc., and at least one of the sections is of light-transmitting material. In the manufacture of the token, the cavity is evacuated and gas of the type which will glow when subjectedV to -a high `frequency 1944, Serial No. 545,852

eld is introduced into the cavity at a suitable pressure, Such as atmospheric pressure, or a pressure somewhat above atmospheric. The noble gases,` such as neon, argon, etc., are suitable for lling the cavity.

After the formation of the body of the token with the gaseous filling, a protective rim 23 may be applied to the periphery of the token to enclose the edges of the sections that have been sealed together.l This rim maybe made of metal or other suitable Wear-resisting material and it serves to protect the sealed edges of the sections and to prevent them from becoming chipped with possible escape of the gas. The protective rim may be given a distinctive color which serves to distinguish tokens of one value from those of another.

The token shown in Figs. 1 and 2 has a body in which the opposite faces are flat and parallel, but Yif desired, the token may be made of a pair of sections 24 which are spherically curved. These sections define a sealed cavity 25'containing the gas lling previously described, andthe united edges of the sections may be protected by a metallic rim 2B generally similar to rim 23.

The body of the token, instead of being formed of a pair oi sections sealed together along their edges, may be made of a continuous glassV envelope 21 formed in accordance with `conventional methods, and then evacuated and given its gaseous filling. The body so formed by glass blowing may have any suitable shape, but for convenience in handling, it will preferably be flattened and of circular outline. The glass used may be clear or `of a color that will modify the light emitted by .the gaseous filling.

A token formed in another way is shown in Fig. 5, and this token comprises a pair of flat discs 28 spaced by van annular body of sealing material 29 connecting them along their edges. The structure thus produced contains a sealed cavity 3U for the gaseous lling, and the edges vof the disc and the sealing ring are protected by a rim 3l of suitable material.

In order that tokens of diiierent denominations may be readily distinguished, the protective rims thereof may be' made of different materials, or materials of different colors, or with different decorative effects, such as embossing or engraving. Tokens of different denominations may also be distinguished by appropriate markings on the is made up of a pair of sections 32 of circular outline, which have recesses of square outline providing a square sealed cavity 33 when the sections are secured together face to face. This cavity, as in the other tokens, is ,lled with a gas which glows when subjected to a high frequency field.

In another modified form sho-wn in Figs. 8 and 9, the body 34 of the token may be formed of a pair of united dished sections or of a single envelope of suitable shape, this body containing a sealed cavity for the gaseous lilling. The body is protected by a shield 35 which serves the same purpose as the rim 23 and also acts as a mask for the flat faces or" the body. The masking portion 35a of the shield is formed with a cut-out 36 of a distinctive shape representing the denomination of the token. The token shown in Fig. 8 has a shield in which the cut-cut has the shape of a star and cut-outs of various other shapes are used in tokens of different values.

Instead of being formed as a dat, hollow disc, the token may be of spherical form as shown in Fig. l0. Such a token will not have a protective rim, and will be preferably made of a suitable plastic material which will not readily chip in use. The body of the spherical token contains a cavity 37 for the gas, and the material of which the body is formed is one having the property of transmitting light, The body of the spherical token may be of varying wall thickness so that the cavity may have a diameter substantially less than that of the body, or approximately the same as the body, as desired. Preferably the wall of the body will be of substantial thickness so that chipping of the surface of the token to a minor extent will not result in gas leakage.

For most purposes, it is desirable to give the token a form such that, when inserted in the slot of a vending machine, for example, it will roll along the slot. This, however, is not essential, since the slot may have such an inclination that the token may move through it without rolling. Accordingly, the token may be of a non-rolling shape, such as that shown in Fig. 11, in which the hollow token body 38 is square in outline and relatively thin, and it is protected by a rim 39, serving the same purpose as rim 2:3. For some purposes it will be satisfactory to give the token the form of a cube 4G, as shown in Fig. 12, which may be enclosed in a protective shield 4|, extending along all edges of the body While leaving substantial areas of the faces exposed. 'I'he token bodies 38 and l0 are made of a light-transmitting material and denne a sealed cavity containing the gaseous lling.

In still another form, the token may include a hollow body 42 which may be of circular or other outline and formed with a relatively wide peripheral face 43 enclosed within a protective rim 44. The lateral faces 45 of the body are dished and have their concave faces' opposed. 'Ihe hollow interior of the body is filled with a gas that will glow when subjected to a high frequency held `and one or both faces 45 are made of light-transmitting material.

The new token is intended to be used in vending machines and other apparatus, which include counterfeitsdetccting mechanism which responds to the light emitted by the gaseous filling of the token when subjected to the action of a high fre.. quency field. Such mechanism includes a photoelectric cell which responds to the light emitted by tokens containing llings of a particular gas. To make counterfeiting more diicult, the token cavities may be internally coated with a fluorescent material, which gives oil light when the gaseous lling glows. Such a fluorescent coating may be applied, as indicated at 46 to the inner surface of the cavity, and by the use of a suitable fluorescent material, lightfof various shades may be produced by the action of a high frequency field upon the token. The fluorescent materials that may be used for the purpose are the usual phosphors, such as zinc silicate, calcium tungstate, etc. Variations in the color produced by the glowing of the gaseous filling may also be obtained by the use of suitable materials for the token body, as for example, uranium glass.

We claim:

1. A token which comprises a small, compact body having a sealed cavity dened in part by at least one light-transmitting wall, and a quantity of material within the cavity which is capable of emitting light when subjected to the action of a high frequency eld, said body being of such size and shape as to adapt it for use in vending and similar apparatus having means for exciting the material in said cavity to cause it to glow.

2. A token which comprises a small, compact body having a sealed cavity defined in part by at least one light-transmitting wall, and a quantity of a gaseous material within the cavity which is capable of emitting light when subjected to the action of a high frequency eld, said body being of such size and shape as to adapt it for use in vending and similar apparatus having means for exciting the gaseous material in said cavity to cause it to glow.

3. A token which comprises a small, compact body having a sealed cavity defined in part by at least one light-transmitting wall, the cavity having an outline of a shape different from that of the token body, and a quantity of material within the cavity which is capable of emitting light visible through the wall when subjected 4to the action of a high frequency eld, said body being of such size and shape as to adapt it for use in vending and similar apparatus having means for exciting the material in said cavity to cause it to glow.

4. A token which comprises a, small, compact body having a sealed cavity dened in part by at least one light-transmitting wall, a quantity of material within the cavity which is capable of emitting light when subjected to the action of a high frequency eld, and means for masking portions of said wall, said body being of such size and shape as to adapt it for use in vending and similar apparatus having means for exciting the material in said cavity to cause it to glow.

5. A token which comprises a small, compact body formed of a pair of like concave sections secured edge to edge and dening a closed cavity between them, at least one of the sections being formed of light-transmitting material, and a quantity of material within the cavity which is capable of emitting light when subjected to the action of a high frequency iield, said body being of such size and shape as to adapt it for use in vending and similar apparatus having means for exciting the material in said cavity to cause it to glow.

6. A token which comprises a small, compact body formed of light-transmitting plastic material and containing a sealed cavity, a protective member enclosing part of the body, and a quantity of material within the cavity which is capable of giving ofi light when subjected to the action of a high frequency field, said. body being of such size and shape as to adapt it for use in vending and similar apparatus having means for exciting the material in said cavity to cause it to glow.

7. A token which comprises a small, compact body having a sealed cavity defined in part by at least one light-transmitting wall, a quantity of a gas within the cavity which is capable of emitting light when subjected to the action of a high frequency elcl, and a coating of fluorescent material on the inner surface of the cavity, said body being of such size and shape as to adapt it for use in vending and similar apparatus having means for exciting the gas within said cavity to cause it to glow.

8. A token which comprises a small, compact body having a sealed cavity dened in part by at least one light transmitting wall, and a quantity of fluorescent material within the cavity, said body being of such size and shape as to adapt it for use in vending and similar apparatus having means for causing the fluorescent material in l0 said cavity to glow.

WILLIAM E. SNELL. HOWARD E. FRANTZ, JR. FRANK A. HIGNUTT. 

